Expert Panel to Tell FAA That Leaving Electronic Devices On is OK

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to relax the ban on use of electronic devices at low altitudes on airline flights, according to a story today by my colleague Andy Pasztor.

Flight attendants won’t have to scold and scream at uncooperative passengers (That’s you, Alec Baldwin!). Readers can keep reading from the time the airplane door closes up to 10,000 feet and as planes descend below 10,000 feet and make their approach and landing. Game players won’t have to interrupt. Workers can keep working.

Cellphone calls will still be banned in the U.S. And many details still have to be worked out, such as what the FAA will do about headphones and listening to music or video during takeoff and landing. There has been longstanding concern about passengers being able to hear instructions in emergencies, regardless of worries about electronic interference with cockpit instruments.

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